Big East. How did this all happen? Following are four reasons why the Irish have, to date, followed through on preseason plans to make this a special season.

[square]ºReally good seniors

Ben Hansbrough gets all the attention for an effort that likely will see him named league player of the year Tuesday evening. Still, five different seniors -- all starters -- have taken five different routes to stand as one and set aside any obvious signs of ego.

All have spent time on the "blue" team as reserves during their Irish careers, and still carry with them that edge to prove they belong. Hansbrough is as maniacal as a New York cabbie working his way through midtown traffic. Carleton Scott plays with the poise of a 10-year NBA veteran who just knows his role and is unfazed by it all. Tim Abromaitis is simply sure and steady. Ty Nash, who has played the most Irish games of anyone, still hasn't tired of the drill. Scott Martin is akin to the fifth Beatle, but even he has fit in seamlessly and has shown an ability to work well after two seasons on the sideline.

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Having veteran guys is no guarantee a team will sail issue-free through a season. A combined seven seniors played major roles for the last two Notre Dame teams -- but neither squad enjoyed anywhere close to this much success.

This group is different. They've pushed themselves and one another. They've stayed hungry. They're far from satisfied.

[square]ºA whole lot of resiliency

Notre Dame reached a crossroads four games into this season -- early in the second half of the Old Spice Classic quarterfinals game against Georgia. The Bulldogs were seemingly too athletic and too good for the overmatched Irish. Notre Dame trailed by 13 points on Thanksgiving night as fans around the country still stuffed from turkey, dozed off likely thinking, same old Irish.

But Notre Dame dug in on defense, stayed poised and stayed with the plan before winning in double overtime. Three nights later, the Irish trailed again by double digits. Notre Dame again turned up the defensive pressure, kicked its offense into another gear and ran away from Wisconsin for the tournament title. Along the way, the Irish left an impression that this team just might have a little more moxie than others.

Similar scenarios surfaced during conference play. Notre Dame erased a 12-point deficit to Marquette, shrugged off a four-point hole with less than four minutes left against Louisville and wasn't the least bit bothered after trailing Seton Hall by 11. All three games ended with Irish wins.

Notre Dame saved its best for last, overcoming a five-point deficit with under five minutes to play in a hostile atmosphere to win the season finale at Connecticut.

Other Irish teams likely would have folded somewhere along the way, but this one never did.

[square]ºA diverse way to get it done

The book on Notre Dame of seasons past was simple -- the Irish would look to outscore teams, and decided to play defense only occasionally. Get the Irish into a halfcourt affair where points were at a premium, and Brey's teams often struggled.

That philosophy was scrapped in the Jan. 24 win at Pittsburgh. The Irish slowed the pace, limited possessions and forced the Panthers to guard for the duration of the 35-second shot. Guess what? It was the nation's second-ranked team that grew frustrated with not being able to get out in the open court as Notre Dame's 56-51 win rattled around the rest of the league -- the Irish could play another way and win.

Spend too time worrying about the "burn" offense and teams could get singed. Notre Dame hit for 87 points in the overtime victory against Louisville, then 94 in the wild win at Providence. Yet, the Irish also were ready -- and more importantly willing -- to downshift again and grind out 60 in a win over Seton Hall.

Notre Dame was the only Big East team to win at least two league games by scoring at least 90, and then win another despite never getting out of the 50s.

It takes a certain individual -- high basketball IQ, secure in his role -- to play both styles. The Irish often were able to adjust and still execute.

[square]ºMaxing out the schedule

Baffling losses often appeared along schedules of Irish seasons past. Notre Dame stumbled in a home game against Loyola Marymount (2009-10), lost seven straight (2008-09) and was beaten by Baylor before it became Baylor as we now know it (2007-08).

Notre Dame rolled through non-conference at 11-1 with the loss coming to Kentucky in Louisville. The Irish were just as good in league play -- their four conference losses all were to teams that finished between fourth and 11th. No loss ever raised a red flag. Two -- at Marquette and at St. John's -- were painfully lopsided, but might have been a different, at least closer contest had Scott been healthy.

Notre Dame was 5-0 against teams in the bottom five of the standings, 5-4 in road games and 9-0 at home in league play.

As league play prepared to commence in late December, Brey insisted that the Irish could not have done any better during the non-league. He again echoed those sentiments as Notre Dame hit the midway point of conference play at 6-3 after weathering Scott's four-game absence. Then in the bowels of Gampel Pavilion on Saturday, he agreed that the back half of the league schedule could not have shaken out any better after the Irish finished 8-1.

Every opportunity was maximized. Losses minimized. Notre Dame handled its business about as well as anyone could have anticipated. Now comes the tough part -- and just maybe -- the fun part.